NEW YORK _ It went full circle for Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks fans booed the Latvian draft night, embraced him as a savior for 3.5 seasons, and were back to booing him Thursday night.
Their vitriol was strong.
A few fans in lower bowl shouted during the national anthem, "traitor" and "rapist" and "go back to Latvia."
When Porzingis was introduced as a starter, the jeers were so loud they drowned out the PA announcer. Any down time was filled with chants of "KP sucks." And after the Knicks again beat Porzingis and the Mavericks, 106-103, the Madison Square Garden crowd started again.
It had been nearly two full years since Porzingis last played at the Garden, but Knicks fans clearly didn't forget how it ended. There was real anger toward a player who, 10 months ago, told the Knicks' front office he desired a relocation.
He played 33 minutes and was decent with 20 points and 11 rebounds, shooting just 7 for 17. Porzingis was the story but the hero was Marcus Morris, whose stepback 3-pointer with 13.2 seconds left broke a tie and ultimately served as the winner.
James Dolan even left his seat to celebrate.
Porzingis said he expected the negative reaction. His social media mentions were a precursor to the fury.
"It's hard not to see it," Porzingis said. "But it is what it is. Everybody can say their opinion on social media and you don't have to read it all if you don't want to, you don't have to pay attention to it. So, sometimes I see it, sometimes I don't look at it. It is what it is. I understand where they're coming from, so it's normal."
Porzingis had no choice but to hear it Thursday. He seemed rattled initially but settled down in the second quarter. His teammate _ Luka Doncic _ was again spectacular with 33 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The Knicks were assisted by solid efforts from Mitchell Robinson (16 points in 22 minutes), who returned from a four-game absence because of a concussion, and Dennis Smith Jr.
Coach David Fizdale said he was unconcerned with the reaction to Porzingis. He and the Latvian embraced in the hallway before the game.
"I don't care either way to be honest with you. I think he served the team well when he was here, he gave it all, he obviously played extremely hard for the city," Fizdale said. "Unfortunately for him he suffered some serious injuries and that's not on him. That's neither here nor there. I don't think it's going to have any weight on him or the game."
Fizdale reiterated Porzingis' fracture with the team wasn't about him.
"Kristaps and I, our relationship was fantastic. For whatever reasons, he had to make his decisions. I don't think it had anything to do with me," the coach said. "He and I discussed a lot of stuff. We had a lot of conversations. Obviously I went and spent a ton of time with him. He had to do with what he thought was right for him. And I respect that. It is what it is. This league, ultimately you never know when you're going to cross paths again and when you're going _ you may end up coaching the guy again. I've had multiple times that I've had a guy on one team and four years later I'm coaching the same guy again. I just feel like, if anything ever happens, it's never worth having a grudge or being petty about stuff.
Porzingis' reasons for not believing in the Knicks were, as time has shown, valid. They entered Thursday night's game with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, coming off last season when they tied a franchise record with 65 defeats.
Just four days earlier, the front office pairing of Steve Mills and Scott Perry held an impromptu press conference to express their disappointment with the season. It was a bizarre maneuver _ prompted by a meeting with Dolan _ and the message left Fizdale twisting in the wind. At least for one night, though, everybody for the Knicks _ including their fans _ left the Garden happy.
